2013 Conference, Richmond, VA July 14-18
50 years ago, Vatican II contributed new voices to our revitalized congregational song.
Join us to explore how a rich cross-fertilization continues to inspire a new generation of writers.
Early registration prices extended to June 1!!!!!
Contact Shannon Hall for your air travel plans: 888-429-0229.
Hymnal Showcases
Oramos Cantando/We Pray in Song [GIA]
Bob Batastini, FHS and Ron Krisman will present this new hymnal intended for the growing number of Latino-Anglo parishes. This is an entirely bilingual hymnal that is comprehensive enough to satisfy both Spanish- and English-speaking communities-individually or in combined worship.
Lift Up Your Hearts [Faith Alive Resources]
Editor Joyce Borger and Martin Tel will present this brand new hymnal, scheduled for release in June, which will contain over 800 songs. Created for both CRC and RCA congregations, the volume will contain all 150 psalms, placed thematically through the hymnal and 3 ecumenical creeds. |
Conference Bookstore HUGE SALE
We are taking everything in our inventory to the conference bookstore and nearly all of it will be marked down drastically. This is your chance to add all the titles you've been wishing for -- and at tremendous savings!!! The University of Richmond has a post office right on campus, so you can also arrange to ship your treasures home.
We will also have back issues of THE HYMN available. Because of space constrictions and our plan to digitize the back issues, we are culling our holdings. You get the benefit!! Take what you need and make a donation to the Lovelace Scholarship fund --whatever you think is appropriate. But you have to be at the conference to take advantage of this offer--we can't take orders to ship back issues to you ahead of time (See the next article for the reason why).
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The Hymn Society Office is moving Our host, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, has sold its campus to another school and is moving to a new location just a few miles away. The Hymn Society will be moving with them so we'll need your patience as there will be an interim location while the new location is finished.
While our physical location will change, our mailing address will stay the same: 3400 Brook Road, Richmond, VA 23227. The new school that has purchased the property has allowed us to keep our present address as long as the offices stay in Richmond.
Our toll-free phone number will also stay the same, as will our email addresses so you will be able to contact us in the same way you have done for the past three years.
We have to have everything packed for the movers by May 20 and will not move into the new location until the end of the summer, so the Book Service will need to close on May 9 in order to have time to pack it for the summer conference. After the conference is over, there will still be a waiting period before we can unpack and open the Book Service again. Watch the website for announcements.
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Webinar Opportunity from NPM
There's still time to enroll in a great webinar taught by Alan Hommerding. It will be held May 16, 2013 entitled, "Hymns: Texts, Tunes, and Theologies." The National Association of Pastoral Musicians is sponsoring the webinar and they have invited The Hymn Society to partner with them on the event. Hymn Society members will be able to participate in the webinar at the same cost as NPM members. This is a wonderful gift of hospitality from our colleagues and a great way to warm up for some of the topics we'll address this summer at our conference! Here's how to register.
- Surf to https://www.npm.org/webinarSeries/
- Click "continue."
- On the second page ("Select Member Type"), select "Current NPM Member with membership number, (or my parish has a group membership)."
- In the field labeled "Group number," type "HS2012" There are no spaces in this code.
- Click "continue."
- You should be presented with a list of webinars. If, however, you receive an error message, please ensure that you typed the code correctly.
- Complete the registration process. You will be granted NPM membership rates. This means that at the payment page, there will be charges for the webinar but no charge for joining NPM for one year.
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Upcoming Events
Sunday, May 5, 2013 -- At 7:30 P.M., seven worshipping communities will join together in hymns of the past and present in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the the town of Leaside at Leaside United Church, 822 Millwood Road (corner of Millwood and McRae), Toronto, Canada. This evening is the culmination of two weeks of Leaside 100 celebrations and is believed to be the first time all churches have come together for any occasion. Singers, choirs, musicians and music directors from Leaside Bible Chapel, Leaside Presbyterian, Leaside United, Northlea United, St. Anselm's Catholic Parish, St. Augustine of Canterbury and St. Cuthbert's Anglican will be participating. Author of the history of Leaside, Jane Pitfield, will be the commentator. There will be an offering received. For more information please contact Sharon Beckstead - sharon.beckstead@sympatico.ca.
HymnFests introducing Lift Up Your Hearts
The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship is providing support to worshiping
communities across North America to host Hymnfests. The purpose of this program
is to promote learning about what it means to sing the whole of God's story.
Apply for support through an application form at
http://wosrhip.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/hymn-festivals/ and
read this related story on "Singing the True Story of the Whole World" at
http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/singing-the-true-story-of-the-whole-world/. Applications may be made until June 30, 2013.
Cambridge Choral Courses, will sponsor a week-long course at All Saints Indianapolis in July. The concept behind the course is to bring the English and American choral traditions together, allowing people to experience the best of both traditions and their music. The course is exclusively staffed by members of Cambridge College Choirs, including the renowned King's College Cambridge, and will be conducted by a leading American Choral director. There will be numerous performance opportunities, as well as an Evensong on the final Sunday. For more information:
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News of Members
 Bravo to John Ambrose, Hymn Society President, who just last week received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for community work in the arts in Mississauga, Ontario over a 30-year period. John reports that it came as a complete and utter surprise! "Not sure what I'll do with it, other than treasure it." The recognition was initiated by several members of the City of Mississauga Council, and presented to John at a choir rehearsal for a Festival Choir directed by his son.
 Congratulations to Marilyn Keiser!
On April 5, 2013 the American Guild of Organists sponsored a recital and gala benefit reception in her honor. The event was held at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City.
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Joanne Reynolds has been leading a project to call each of our Hymn Society members to offer our thanks for their membership and to invite them especially to our conference this summer. We have had a team of thirty folks making calls -- maybe you've gotten such a call! We need more volunteers to help us finish the calls by June 1. Those making the calls have reported delightful conversations with members! If you can help, please contact the office or email Joanne Reynolds at jsreynoldscb@q.com Thanks!!
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Hymnology Course Available Online
The Hymn Society is sponsoring an online Hymnology course to be offered this fall through Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond and taught by Dr. Deborah Carlton Loftis. It will be a three-credit, master's level course, in a course of study fully accredited by ATS. Students at any seminary or divinity school may take the course and transfer the credit to their home institution. Contact the Hymn Society office (1-800-THE HYMN) for more information on how to enroll. The class begins September 9, 2013.
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March 10, 2013 - "The Pilgrim Way: A Hymn Festival" was held at First Lutheran Church, Lorain, OH. The idea of Lent (and the Christian life) as a journey was explored in this hymn festival led by Brian Wentzel. The program and a recording of the festival are available on the church's website: www.firstlutheranlorain.org/firstmusic/2013pilgrim.html
March 17, 2013 - "Hymns for All Seasons," a festival sponsored by the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of the AGO was presented at First Presbyterian Church, Hanford, CA. Laurell Huber is Dean of the chapter. The festival choral director was David Hensley, assisted by several members of the AGO chapter. The Pacific Brass from Fresno Pacific University, under the direction of Wayne Huber, and a festival choir comprised of four church and college choirs participated in the service.
April 13, 2013 -- The youth of Christ Church, Winetka, IL, held a "Hymn-a-thon" to benefit their choir tour. During nearly 10 hours of singing, 720 hymns were presented. The youth choir is led by choirmaster Richard Clemmett.
April 21, 2013 - The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the American Guild of Organists held a Hymn Festival at First Congregational Church in Berkeley. The festival featured new hymn tunes and texts by members of the SFAGO and The Hymn Society. Donna Hamilton, a Life Member who died in December was memorialized with readings excerpted from her articles which appeared in The Hymn. The choir of First Congregational Church, under the direction of Larry Marietta led the festival; John Karl Hirten was organist for the program. Hymn Society members taking part included Jerry Asheim, Daniel Charles Damon, Eileen M. Johnson, Nancy Hall, and Jan Robitscher.
Be sure to let us know of hymn festivals in your area. Send copies of the program to the office if available so that we can pass them along to others for planning ideas.
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Reviews of Hymn-Based Compositions
This month we feature new piano music. The reviews are submitted by Beverly Howard. Thanks, Beverly! April reviews
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Survey of Favorite Hymns
Hymn Society member Ed Frazier has been keeping records of favorite hymn selections for many years. Each year he adds to his database. Last year his survey was available through The Verse and a number of people listed their favorites with him. This year, Ed has sent this list of Top 10 Favorites and would like your response.
The following hymns are the composite All-Time Top 10 favorites from all the responses. How do you rate the following hymns and gospel songs?
1) Amazing Grace
2) How Great Thou Art
3) The Old Rugged Cross
4) What a Friend we have in Jesus
5) Blessed Assurance
6) All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name
7) Holy, Holy, Holy
8) Great is Thy Faithfulness
9) It is Well with my Soul
10) A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Ed would like to know how The Hymn Society members selected their favorites from the larger survey. Some have favorites from family members, others have acquired their favorites from various hymnals or recordings. Still other choose based on a particular hymnwriter's texts or based on the tune.
If you'd like to participate in the survey or discuss your reasons for your choices of favorites, please contact Ed at eddiejfra@aol.com
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The Brehm Center for Worship, Theology and the Arts, in collaboration with the FredBock Institute of Music is pleased to announce a search for new sacred choral music. The Brehm Center has been at the forefront of conversations in worship and music for over a decade, and we are now looking to involve musicians more deeply in thatconversation as well.
Open to omposers of all ages, styles, and training, this search requests the writing of an original premiere-performance SATB choral work based on Jesus Christ the Son of God. This search will award a cash prize to the top entry, as well as the possibility of having the piece published by The Brehm Center's Jubal House imprint, distributed by Hal Leonard. A performance of the winning piece may be considered at a future Fuller Seminary or Brehm Center event.
Deadline for submission is October 1, 2013. See the attached document for more details. Brehm Center choral contest
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| Continuing Hymn Contests and Searches
Pax Christi Chorale is pleased to announce the Great Canadian Hymn Competition II, the followup to the 1st competition held in 2009. The competition invites composers to submit original hymns by June 1, 2013. Winning entries will be announced in mid-September, and performed in concert on Sunday October 6, 2013 at Grace Church on-the-Hill in Toronto. First prize is $350, second prize is $150, and third prize is $50. For more information visit the website: Pax Christi contest
South Congregational Church United Church of Christ (South Church), Kennebunkport, ME, announces a contest for hymn writers. It carries a prize of $1000 for the winning entry. We are asking for a new hymn which speaks of the Church and it's ministry to the wider community, rooted in its history, responsive to the present and laying a foundation for the future. All entries must be postmarked by September 15, 2013. The judges will arrive at their decision by November 1, 2013. For more information see the attached pdf: South Church Contest
Dan Damon is seeking new songs for a forthcoming collection from Hope Publishing Company: At Your Altars (chants, refrains, and short songs) with a projected publication date of June 2014. The deadline for submissions is August 1, 2013. For more information see the attached file: Song search
The 2013 Macalester Plymouth United Church hymn contest will be a search for a new Advent or Christmas carol which speaks to the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation, and the coming of the One who brings justice, mercy and "peace to all on earth." As always, both new music and familiar music is welcome! For more information, call the church (651-698-8871) or visit the church website at www.macalester-plymouth.org. For more details, consult the attached pdf: Macalester Plymouth 2013
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New Seminary Course for Music in Christian Worship
Dr. Paul Westermeyer, FHS, will teach a course at Brite Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, June 17-21. The course, sponsored by the Church Music Institute will offer graduate credit or welcome auditors. Housing and scholarships are available.
Click here for the course description. |
Upcoming Events in England 2013
CHRISTIAN CONGREGATIONAL MUSIC: LOCAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES, 1-3 August 2013 at Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford University. The program for their 2011 conference is attached here.
The Charles Wesley Society, 7-10 August 2013 at the Wesley Centre, Univ. Durham, England.
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